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“Moving towards greater energy efficiency in the EU is essential for progress in tackling climate change and achieving sustainable economic growth. The European Parliament needs to work alongside the Commission and the Council in order to create and meet bold energy saving goals”.

“The EU cannot overlook the importance of effective waste management. Careless approaches to waste management can and will cause serious harm to the environment. The EU member states must unite and put an end to harmful waste. Policies need to ensure safe and effective waste management practises. That is why work on directives such as the WEEE directive is important for providing for environmental concerns of the future”.

“The current financial crisis reminds us that as a united European Union, we must fight together to push towards future economic growth, striving with specific focus towards sustainable economic growth. This will ensure future stability in the market as well as protection for the environment”

“Protection of the environment is not only an environmental issue but a global one. Environmental damages’ impacts are worldwide and Europeans must be conscious that their actions do have consequences in other countries even if efforts are made to protect our continent. The seminar I will be chairing in the European Parliament on responsible mining in November will be an opportunity to explore new and alternatives ways of mining in the EU as opposed to importing more and more raw materials which might not have been mined in an environmentally friendly way on another continent and which cost a lot of money to the EU”.

Electrical and electronic waste is a major global environmental problem given our society’s growing dependence on such goods and the high turnover rate as new products come to market. Although it is difficult to quantify e-waste, we do know that large amounts are ending up in places where processing occurs at a very unprofessional level.

This raises concerns about resource efficiency and also the concerns of the dangers to humans and the environment. ALDE insists on high standards for collection, recycling, treatment and re-use of electronic waste (mobiles, computers, TVs). The European Parliament will vote on the second reading agreement of the Regulation which defines the new rules and principles on the revision of the WEEE Directive (Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment), aiming at toughening existing rules on the sector.

MEP Vladko Panayotov (MRF, BG), ALDE Group shadow rapporteur, said:
“With the new provisions of the WEEE Directive we are paving the way for more and better recycling of electrical and electronic waste in the EU. As liberals, we fought for cracking down on the illegal shipment of waste and including all waste streams in the scope. Now this is a reality. We have ensured that these precious resources will be recycled accordingly in a more environmentally responsible way thus helping to achieve higher levels of resource efficiency“.

The Regulation underlines a number of important considerations:
• open scope (all types of electronic equipment will be covered) will apply after six years,
• collection targets (Member States will have to ensure that 65% of all e-waste is collected and treated properly – this is considerably more than under current requirements),
• these new collection targets will apply fully after seven years from entry into force of the Directive (the European Parliament had insisted on a much quicker implementation which was blocked by Member States),
• Member States shall promote the separation of e-waste for re-use,
• treatment and recyclability schemes (oblige shops selling electronic equipment on a surface bigger than 400 m2 to take back any small e-waste free of charge including small IT and PCs, laptops, mobiles),
• producer definition and registration (European producers will still be registered in each Member State where they are active but the administrative burden is reduced in order to cut costs),
• shipment of non-functional electronic equipment (tightening control).

Notes: Each EU citizen generates on average between 17 and 20 kg of electric and electronic waste each year. Currently, only a third of this waste is reported to be treated according to existing EU legislation. The rest is either reported to go directly to landfills or is lost to potentially sub-standard treatment inside or outside the EU (54%).

Members of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee approved today a report on the Commission’s legislative proposal amending the Directive on batteries and accumulators containing hazardous substances.
The Batteries Directive focuses on minimising the negative impacts of batteries and accumulators on the environment and also introducing measures for more transparency in the internal market.
The key objective of the report is to prohibit the placing on the market of most batteries and accumulators, including those incorporated into appliances, that contain more than 0,002% of cadmium by weight.
ALDE MEP Vladko Panayotov (MRF, Bulgaria) suggests extending the scope of the Commission proposal to include a ban on button cells containing more than 0,005% of mercury by weight thus removing an already outdated exemption.
The report aims at raising levels of collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of waste of batteries and accumulators. There are also minimum rules for producer responsibility and provision with regard to labeling and their removal from appliances.
The draft report proposed the current exemption for cadmium containing batteries to be extended by one year, in order to allow economic actors (producers of portable rechargeable batteries, cordless power tool producers and recycling companies) to further adapt their technological developments and relevant substitute technologies, and highlight to all parties the date of the ban’s entry into force.
“I am confident that these measures will improve existing legislation by closing existing loopholes due to different interpretations of the definitions and that they will enable a smoother and less costly transition for all stakeholders along the value-chain by providing some additional time for technological developments and innovations in the field of recycling of batteries and simultaneously ensuring the protection of the environment and human health.
“The extension of the scope of the directive to mercury is also a very significant step to decrease pollution and environmental damage as fast as possible”, concluded MEP Panayotov.

On May 18, 2012 prof. Vladko Panayotov – Member of the European Parliament, ALDE Group, organized a conference, dedicated to building common European strategy for the Black Sea region in Varna.
The object of the forum was to gather opinions of policymakers – governmental and regional level at EU, with the views of science, technology and financing experts, private sector, NGOs and SMEs, working in the field of economic development, environmental legal framework and the protection of the Black Sea region.

The discovery of new economic opportunities, taking into account the issues of disaster prevention and effective use of resources, diagnosis of problems of environmental pollution as well as opportunities for mitigation were discussed by scientists, representatives of the European Commission, the European and Bulgarian Parliament and the local government.
It was discussed the cross border cooperation in the context of the Danube Strategy and its links to the Black Sea.
Special attention was paid to opportunities for networking and preparation of joint projects together with the other member and neighbor, Romania. The meeting was present in numerous newspapers and magazines such as: Actualno.com, evz.ro, BGNES, clovis.ro and realitatea.net